Easton Mako Conversion

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Thinking of converting my player skates since o don't skate out anymore, but also want it to be reversible for the odd time that I might want to do so. So that leaves me with a couple questions:

1) is the whole t-nut thing generally regarded as "safe" to do? I'd like to not have to take my skates to a shop to have my ice holders put back on occasionally. 

2) is there any model chassis that will fit on the Mako skate without drilling new holes? I don't mind drilling holes I guess if I'm not going to compromise structural integrity

3) can anyone recommend a chassis and wheels that fit criteria #2 that would be good for somebody who has never used inline skates?

Specifically, I'm a 35 year old overweight guy who has no plans to play roller hockey, I just want some skates to skate around the neighborhood. So that means concrete sidewalks and decently smooth asphalt roads. 

 

[gosinger 122]

So I've converted my Mako 2 to inline, along with plenty other skates.

1) The T-Nut thing is "safe" in the sense that nothing is damaged and they hold up fine. However, I don't know how well they will hold up to repeatedly unmounting / remounting them.

2 + 3) No inline chassis on the market (that I know of) will fit the existing holes. Mostly because for ice skates, each size has its own size (e.g. 272 for 8, 280 for 9) and there are not as many sizes in inline chassis available that they could cover those. You could maybe re-use the front holes by adding new holes to the Marsblade holder.

My advice would be to get a decently fitting pair of used ice skates (I do so with my old ice skates once I upgrade) and use them as dedicated inline skates. You can often pick up great used pro-level skates for <200$ that are ideal for conversion. If you want to simulate ice-like skating, I'd say go for the Marsblade (there is a long thread on this forum) of maybe the Sprungs (out of production) or the upcoming Fizix frames.

[IPv6Freely 2092]

I've been trying to find another pair of Mako skates but not having much luck. 

[althoma1 574]

I have two pairs of converted Makos with the Sprung chassis.  The holes don't line up. I would also recommend keeping them as dedicated inline skates and agree with gosinger on the chassis recommendations.  Those three will give you a more ice like feel than a flat chassis. 

[IPv6Freely 2092]

Okay guys I'll keep trying to find another pair of Makos

[Stewie 721]

to be honest, if you're just going to be skating around the neighborhood and such, id just get a decent pair of recreational rollerblades, rather than put all this time effort and money into a conversion. super easy to put on and off, comfortable, and you don't need to worry about scuffing the crap out of them if you were to fall etc. I'm finally getting a new pair myself, had the same k2s for 17 years.

[althoma1 574]

Stewie does make a good point. If your intention is just recreational skating then recreational blades are just fine. A conversion is more appropriate for playing or practicing hockey.

[gosinger 122]

I'm a huge believer in "putting yourself in the right frame of mind". When stickhandling off-ice, I wear gloves. When doing agility training, I keep a low hockey stance. When skating, I'm in hockey skates.

I noticed that when in the beginning of off-ice training with fitness skates, I was skating towards the rink in a "fitness" stride (upwards, relaxed, no need bend). Putting on "proper" hockey skates puts me in the frame of mind of "nose to toes", to bend my legs, etc. So rather than fitness skates I'd rather go for some mid-range inline skates, but avoid rec-skates like the pest. Just my 0.02$.

On a side-note, I just returned from 90 minutes practice on my Mako conversion. In two days, I'll be on a different rink with my old x:60 conversion, as I am playing on a different surface there and am too lazy to switch wheels 3x a week. As long as the skate somehow fits, I'd go for the hockey skate any day of the week.

[Stewie 721]

I mean, if you have a decent enough pathway where you could even think about skating in a hockey posture enough, and can get a decent amount of speed, sure,  but either way, unless he goes full out marsblades, hes not going to mimic an ice stance anyways, and since hes already stated that he has no desire to play inline, and has pretty much determined that hes exclusively a goalie from here on out, id still go rec for him if his goal is to shave some pounds. I don't find it any more difficult to go from rec-ice as I do inline-ice. Had he stated he wanted to use this as an off ice training tool for skating out, id have an entirely different suggestion. All up to him though, if he has the extra 600 sitting around, go for it.

[Kgbeast 195]

Going back to original question. If I understand you right, you are not looking to become a recreational roller either and that you want to convert your Makos to inline since you love your Makos and want to give them another life as rollers and occasionally skate around a park nearby. Perhaps also for the process of doing this conversion yourself as otherwise, you would have just asked for a good conversion shop.

I do not see why you could not convert it to t-nuts. Converting from inline to ice on a rear occasion should not be a problem. For an ice-skater, I would look at marsblade as the rocker should be a welcome thing. Perhaps send an email to them with your intentions and skates info and see what they say as far as size and holes go as well as what they think about your desire to skate on pavement. With t-nuts, you do not need to utilize all holes, since t-nut joint is stronger than standard rivets as t-nuts use more area and cause less stress if properly torqued. So any holes that are too close to the original holes you should be able to skip instead of having two holes next to each other and perhaps weaken the already less than optimal for this carbonfiber. 4-6 t-nuts in front and 4 in the back should be enough. I would pay extra attention to how tight the screws are as that can potentially ruin the carbonfiber bottoms of your Makos. You'd need to snug the screws up and give them a slight tug (I know many people tend to over-torque their Graf screws which does nothing, but unnecessary stress on the outsole which might be an ok with TPU but not so much with carbonfiber). Obviously, you will need to make sure to remove the spikes from t-nuts if you choose to use ordinary woodworking t-nuts. McMaster-Carr can offer better options than Home-Depot. Getting the correct length screws with correct size heads might be more pain than you expect, but again McMaster-Carr or maybe Grainger can be the source. Graf t-nuts obviously can be a thing to consider, but not sure if either of their lengths options will work in your setup.